DE20113478U1 - Padding element for swimming goggles - Google Patents

Description

Padding element for swimming goggles

The invention relates to the field of swimming goggles and, in particular, to a padding element for swimming goggles for improved close contact with the wearer's eye sockets and for improved wearing comfort.

Figures 4 and 5 of the drawing illustrate a conventional pair of swimming goggles comprising two lenses Γ, two padding elements 2', a bridge 3' and a headband 4'. Each lens Γ is made of a transparent rigid material and includes a first connecting portion 11' at its inner end engaging the bridge 3' and a second connecting portion 12' at its outer end engaging the headband 4'. Each lens Γ further includes a planar face 13' on its outer side, a peripheral wall 14' extending inwardly from a periphery of the planar face 13' and a flange 15' extending from an inner periphery of the peripheral wall 14' along a plane parallel to the planar face 13'.

Each cushion member 2' is an annular member made of a soft material and includes an engaging portion 2' on its outer side which engages the flange 15' of an associated lens 2'. An extension wall 22' extends from a periphery of the engaging portion 2' along a plane perpendicular to the engaging portion 2'. An annular planar contact face 23' is formed on an inner side of the extension wall 22' to contact the eye sockets of the wearer. Wearing comfort is improved by the elasticity of the extension wall 22'.

However, as illustrated in Fig. 5, different wearers have different contours of the eye sockets. The planar contact face 23' of the cushioning element 2' cannot make uniform, close contact with the eyes.

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As a result of the tight contact in one area a of the eye sockets, the wearer feels uncomfortable, while in another area b a poor sealing effect against the water is achieved.

6 and 7 illustrate a conventional arrangement of a lens and a cushioning member. The lens 5' is made of a rigid material and includes a planar face 5Γ on its outer side and an annular wall 52' extending inwardly from a periphery of the planar face 5Γ. The annular wall 52' includes a lower portion 52Γ shaped to conform to the outline of a wearer's eye sockets and an upper portion 522'. The lens 5' further includes an outer edge face 53' with various inclinations. A soft cushioning member 6' includes a first side 6Γ bonded to the outer edge face 53' and a second side 62' contacting the wearer's eye sockets, the second side 62' being parallel to the first side 6V .

However, since the eye sockets are not planar, even if the end surface 53' of the outer edge is in close contact with the corresponding portion c of the wearer's eye sockets, the cushioning member 6' cannot be in close contact with an outer portion d of the wearer's eye sockets in the desired close manner after the cushioning member 6' is adhered to the end surface 53' of the outer edge because the outline of the portion c is different from the outline of the portion d.

In the assembly procedure, the cushioning elements 6' bonded to the lenses 5' may differ in thickness; namely, each cushioning element 6' may not be in exactly the same position with respect to the wearer's eye sockets. As a result, the water-sealing effect cannot be reliably obtained. Moreover, after a period of time, the cushioning element 6' will be permanently deformed, thus causing a change in the contact position, which also results in a poor water-sealing effect.

When the first side 61' of the cushioning element 6' is deformed so that it

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is in contact with the end face 53' of the outer edge of the lens 5', the former may be deformed according to the outline of the latter. However, because the cushioning member 6' is elastic and is easily deformed, the second side 62' of the cushioning member 6' may not have a curvature completely equal to the curvature of the first side 6', resulting in an undesirable change in the curvature of the second side 62', and therefore not making close contact with the wearer's eye sockets.

The invention is therefore based on the object of creating a padding element for swimming goggles which provides improved close contact with the wearer's eye sockets and improved wearing comfort.

This object is achieved according to the invention by a padding element for swimming goggles according to claim 1.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become clear from reading the following description of preferred embodiments, which refers to the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a lens and a

Padding element for swimming goggles according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the lens and the

Upholstery element in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a schematic front view showing the use of the

lens and the cushioning element in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 the already mentioned perspective exploded view of a

conventional swimming goggles;

Fig. 5 the already mentioned partially cutaway schematic

Side view illustrating the use of the swimming goggles according to Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 the already mentioned perspective view of a

conventional arrangement of a lens and a cushioning element; and

Fig. 7 the already mentioned partially cutaway schematic

Side view illustrating the use of the swimming goggles according to Fig. 6.

In Figs. 1 and 2, a padding element 2 for swimming goggles according to the invention is used with a lens 1. The lens 1 is made of a rigid material and comprises a planar face 11, a peripheral wall 12 extending from a periphery of the planar face 11, and an annular flange 13 formed at an inner end of the peripheral wall 12.

The cushioning member 2 is essentially an annular member made of a soft material and includes an outer engaging portion 21 (Fig. 3) that engages the lens 1. The cushioning member 2 further includes an inner annular contact portion 23 (Fig. 3) shaped to conform to the curvature of the wearer's eye sockets. Between the outer engaging portion 21 and the inner annular contact portion 23 is formed an intermediate portion 22 whose width, thickness and curvature are designed to ensure close contact between the outer annular contact portion 23 and the wearer's eye sockets. More specifically, as illustrated in Fig. 2, both the width, thickness and curvature of the intermediate portion 22 are non-uniform, but are specifically shaped to promote close contact between the outer annular contact portion 23 and the wearer's eye sockets.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, due to the provision of the intermediate portion 22 of the cushioning member 2, the annular contact portion 23 of the cushioning member 2 is in reliable, close contact with the eye sockets of the wearer during use, thereby providing improved comfort and improved sealing against water. The cushioning member 2 can be fitted with a lens of any other shape

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in operation without adversely affecting the wearing comfort and the sealing effect against the water.

Although the invention has been explained with reference to its preferred embodiment, it will be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims (1)

Padding element for swimming goggles, characterized in that
the padding element ( 2 ) is substantially ring-shaped and made of a soft material,
the cushioning element ( 2 ) comprises an outer engagement portion ( 21 ) which engages a lens ( 1 ),
the padding element ( 2 ) comprises an inner annular contact portion ( 23 ) shaped according to the curvature of the wearer's eye sockets,
the cushioning element ( 2 ) comprises an intermediate portion ( 22 ) formed between the outer engagement portion ( 21 ) and the inner annular contact portion ( 23 ), and
the intermediate portion ( 22 ) has a non-uniform width, a non-uniform thickness and a non-uniform curvature to ensure close contact between the inner annular contact portion ( 23 ) and the eye sockets of the wearer.